May lightning strike me dead if I am a conspiracy theorist, but-

My mind keeps wandering back the the Great Scourge of the Siev boats, when we were saved from that armada by the plucky little Drake.

What of all those left behind in Indonesia? What deals were done, with whom. How was it done?

Being seen as hypocrites is not normally a problem. Our government has a hide like an elephant when it suits them.

- so I am left with the feeling that there may be a ticking time-bomb of complicity in something unsavoury left over from those days. Maybe something we would rather not hear about. Maybe something that binds us in a way that goes beyond (or below) normal overt diplomacy.

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BANG! Crickey, what was that?

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Over the past few years, I have repeatedly argued that the immigration department should be relieved of its responsibility for the administration of Australia’s refugee and asylum seeker policies. I did not mean to call for a return to the days when refugee and asylum seeker issues were considered to be a foreign policy matter.”

What a blow! The Government hasn’t listened to what poor Klaus has had to say over the years about refugee policy. Apart from never having heard of him, governments are interested in one thing only – being elected. A tougher (it’s not really tough in its own right) border protection than the Opposition’s has helped them stay in power for over 10 years because they, rightly, went along with what the majority of people wanted. Now, when they want to process all illegals offshore, a group of irresponsible backbench malcontents threatens to cross the floor and, knowing that that action would affect the reputation of the PM and be the beginning of the end for the Coalition, the “tough” John Howard and his incompetent immigration Minister have slipped into reverse. We will have an even more shaky and bewildering policy or, if the backbenchers choose to bring more pressure, a complete about face on the whole business of border protection.

Whatever it takes to keep the Coalition in government. So, let’s forget all the nonsense about Refugee Conventions, international and Australian law and other niceties, and come to grips with the fact that everything hinges on the Government’s re-election prospects. The true opposition now is not Labor, but wet Coalition backbenchers; they have more chance of ousting the Government than does the ALP, and John Howard is obviously very scared of them at the moment.

Don’t be at all surprised if the roll-up-uninvited-and-get-a-visa charade continues.

By far the most disgusting public spectacle of late has been that of watching as a bunch of Indonesian Parliamentarians are briefed on how Australia will trash international conventions to please a neighbour at the very same time that Indonesia trashes the most fundamental legal convention of all. The leader of a true terrorist cell was let free to calls from those very same Indonesians for us to respect the "integrity of their legal system" while people seeking to escape state sponsored terror are denied the protection of our legal system (indeed, the world's legal system) at the behest of the same scum.

And for what? If you want to discourage economic migrants then put them to work with pick and shovel, on Indonesian wages plus medicare levy, fixing the road to Cape York. And who would care if 10,000 showed up, there's a lot more roads still to be fixed.

It was John Howard, himself, who said that "we will determine who comes ..etc" but right now it is the Indonesians who are exercising veto over who will come as refugees. No West Papuans need apply.

Leigh you didn't read the post. Refugees do not need a visa, an invitation or anything else to arrive and ask for protection. it is a legal right we have afforded refugees from all over the world if they can get to our territory. What is the point of acceding to the laws if we then say a particular group cannot come.

Were we invited to blow up Iraq, did our soldiers and politicians get visas first? I don't think so but the journalists had to.

The law as it stands says "to be granted a protection visa an applicant must be in Australia", if the same group of people could get to an embassy and ask for a visa to fly here they would be refused on the known basis they would be applying for refugee status.

Just imagine if Africa took our lead and decided to off load their pathetic load of 8 million refugees (compared to our mammoth amount of 42) and looked at the empty land and said "I know let's send to them to Australia in a Pacific solution."

Talk about ridiculous and short sighted rabbiting on with John Howard and his off shore processing. Unless people are Australian they are all off shore.

Chris, are you saying that those who missed the daily Ashmore Reef ferry service and were left behind in Indonesia were refugees or asylum shoppers? What if they have returned to their countries? If they did wouldn’t that undermine the desperation of their plight?

And to test your prescience may I have next week’s powerball numbers PLEASE.

Johnny and Phil want their own Guantanamo, George has got one.

Just substitute Haiti for West Papua and Cuba for Nauru.

No recourse to those pesky courts. Great place for David Hicks. Oh yes I forgot, keep Kevin happy all those union leaders can go there, keep Peter happy we can park our overseas debt there, keep Tony happy we can move all the sick people there, keep Brendan happy we can hide the $2Bn worth of helicopters and $2Bn worth of dud ammo there.

Lucky we mined all the bird poo, we have a place to put our own.